


Niðavellir

by Jbee



Series: Gates of Askr: Year Two [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27942551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jbee/pseuds/Jbee
Summary: Kiran drops into to give Alfonse a hand while he packs his room for his big move!
Relationships: Alfonse/Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Series: Gates of Askr: Year Two [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038126
Kudos: 7





	Niðavellir

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of a collection of short stories driven by the FEH Subreddit Weekly Writing Prompts, Dec. 7th, 2020. "Alfonse tells Kiran an old Askran legend of the realm of Nidavellir."

Kiran knocked loudly on the door before entering the prince’s chambers, or what is now the former prince’s chambers. She pushed the heavy wooden slab that had already been left ajar, entering the room that used to be lavishly decorated with fine paintings and fabrics, all those nice luxury items now packed away neatly in the crates lined along the walls. In a push to see her son crowned King of Askr in the up-coming year, Queen Henriette had decided to move Alfonse into the King’s Chambers before his coronation to help secure his position.

“Ah! Kiran!” Alfonse turned from placing a slender and elegant sword delicately into the crate filled with straw in front of him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He bent down to lift the lid of the box, as Kiran came around to help, lifting the other side with him.

“I heard you were packing your room up, so I thought I would drop by to see if you needed a hand.” She pulled her fingers away as he adjusted the lid to the centre.

“How thoughtful of you.” He smiled as he dropped a handful of nails he pulled from his vest pocket, placing one up-right, and coming down on it swiftly with a wooden mallet. Alfonse continued to hammer in nails, the golden tints in his blue dark hair catching the sunlight streaming in from the windows. “Most of the work is done, but there are a few odds and ends that still need to be boxed up before I leave.” He gestured towards a bookshelf near his bed on the far side of the room.

“Leave?” Kiran was taken back; this was the first she had heard of him planning to travel at this time. “Where to?”

“I’m going to stay in the family’s southern villa for a couple of weeks until the renovations for father’s… I mean, the Kings Chambers are complete.” Alfonse grew quiet as he crossed the room to the book shelf by the bed, leaning in close before he continued. “You should know that I plan on taking Cherche, as well as a handful of other heroes with me. I have asked Cherche to take me to Sem, to meet this Mother Rå. I would like to speak with this witch. Ask her what she knows about the álfr, and the thinning veil between the realms.”

“Alfonse! Are you out of your mind?!” Kiran exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth, when he angrily hushed her, and placed a finger to his lips. Kiran looked over her shoulder, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “What if someone finds out? What if your mother finds out? She would never approve of this little excursion!”

“And that’s why she isn’t going to find out.” Alfonse calmly informed her, passing her books from the shelf. “The Altean prince, Marth, will take my place in the southern villa, while I am in Sem with Cherche. Ever since he has joined the Askran Guard those unfamiliar with me cannot tell us apart. Making him the perfect body double!” He chuckled to himself, proud of his plan. “No one in the south of Askr will be able to tell the difference, leaving me free to travel unknown to Mother. Trust me Kiran, I have thought this through carefully.”

“Well, what if snow comes early, and traps you in Sem?” Kiran felt uneasy about his idea. Traveling to Sem brought them nothing but trouble, why was he so eager to go there, and run the risk of making things worse for them?

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Alfonse laughed at her, passing her the last book on the shelf. “Snow will not arrive in the south for some time now.”

Kiran pouted, snatching the book and giving him a cold shoulder. She wasn’t sure what was starting to bother her more, the idea of him going to see Mother Rå, or the idea of him going to see Mother Rå without her.

“Don’t fret, Kiran. It will be fine, and I will be back just in time for the holidays.” Alfonse tried to reassure her, wiping the dust away from the shelf with a rag. “I trust you have received my assigned work, and have been thinking upon what your New Year’s resolution will be?”

“Yeah, sure.” Kiran mumbled, knowing full well she wouldn’t think upon his assignment again until a later date. She looked down at the book he gave her. A beautiful embossed crest, painted in gold she was not familiar with on the front cover. “Hey, what’s this?” Kiran asked, crawling up onto the bed, and lying on her stomach.

“Oh!” Alfonse turned from his work, and sat on the edge of the bed. “After traveling to Ljósálfheimr and Dökklálfheimr, I decided to brush up on more old Zenith lore. I’m quite done with that one; you should borrow it.”

“Nida… Velyr?” Kiran struggled through the Askran script on the cover.

“Close.” Alfonse laughed again, placing a finger under each character as he taught her how to pronounce the title. “Niðavellir, The Realm of Dvergar. A subterranean race that was thought to reside in the realm beneath Zenith. Deep in the rock and soil they carved out their cities. Working their forges by torchlight. They are considered the creators of magnificent machines and weaponry; some still claim they are the craftsmen of our sacred weapons in Zenith. Folding their magic within the rare materials they mined.”

“But, do you believe they are real?” Kiran scoffed, opening the book and flipping through its old pages.

“After Hel and the álfr I’m not sure what I believe anymore.” Alfonse sighed, and his eyes glossed over as he spoke. “No other time in the history of Askr has our world been plagued by the gods so. At least not after the great legends of old.” He paused, snapping himself out of his own daydream. “This is why I am traveling to see Mother Rå. I hope she may shed some light on this for me. I worry for Askr’s future, and Zenith’s as a whole.”

“You will be a good king.” Kiran pushed herself to sit-up in the bed, carelessly tossing the book into the crate with a smile. “Maybe your gods feel threatened!”

Alfonse picked the book about Niðavellir back up from the top of the pile, and encouraged her to take it once more. “It’s not me I believe the gods are threatened by.” He gave her a bittersweet smile, and laid his hand on her shoulder.

Kiran hesitated, looking down at the book, and a smirk crawled across her face before she climbed up to stand triumphantly on the bed. “Well then, let the dvergar come!” She cried out, her voice echoing off the bare stone walls as she bounced on the bed, her hand outstretched above her head. Calling the troops to battle as she tried to cheer the prince up. “I’m not scared of their pickaxes, and strong work ethic! If they even think of coming to Askr with bad intentions, I will grab them by their scruffy beards, and shove them back in the holes they crawled out of!” Kiran stopped, her face growing dark, and she looked down at Alfonse from the corner of her eye. “Um, I’m taller than a dvergr, right?”

Alfonse chuckled in amusement. “Maybe.” He stood-up from his seat, and reached out his hand to help her step down and off the bed. “We won’t know until they emerge from their burrows, but to be honest, I hope we never find out.”

“Me too.” Kiran nodded in agreement, and placed the book in her coat’s inner pocket as they walked towards the chamber’s door. “Anyways, I look forward to hearing about your visit to the south, and seeing you again during the Winter’s Festival!” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged the prince tightly. “Stay safe, Alfonse!”

“You too, Kiran.” Alfonse whispered, drawing her in close, before saying their farewells and he watched his summoner happily walk away singing a curious chorus, and whistling a merry tune. _“High Ho! High Ho! Off to summon I go!”_

End.

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, the Book 5 story chapters came out after this was posted, and things didn't line up with this story that well! But that's how it goes when you put things out on a weekly bases! It's part of the fun, right? :P
> 
> Anyways, even if I missed the mark and the Dvergar are not gods, I'm really excited for them to be part of the nobility in Zenith! I think we have some interesting characters in this book, and I have some great ideas of how I want to use them in the upcoming year!
> 
> <3


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